


reach

by timeinthetardis



Category: Once Upon a Time (TV)
Genre: 5x02 The Price, Dark Swan, F/M, Speculation
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-09-30
Updated: 2015-09-30
Packaged: 2018-04-24 04:31:34
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,364
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4905547
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/timeinthetardis/pseuds/timeinthetardis
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The Dark Swan has promised to punish the people who failed her in Camelot, and has stolen their memories to boot. When she vanishes without providing answers, Killian seeks her out on his own.  </p><p>Speculation for 5x02 "The Price" based on the sneak peek with Henry.</p>
            </blockquote>





	reach

“Emma Swan. Emma Swan. Emma Swan.”

The words hang in the air for a long moment. A faint whisper winds its way through the salty breeze, nearly lost in the gentle lapping of the waves beneath the docks and the occasional creak of the anchored boats nearby. The buzz of repressed magic crackles against his skin and she's there, perched on the wooden railing across from him as if it's a throne.

“Killian.” She's utterly still, face carefully blank. “Who told you?” He opens his mouth to respond, but she cuts him off. “No, of course. You remembered.”

He nods once, taking a step towards her. “Emma, please, tell me what happened in Camelot."

“If I wanted you to know that, I would have left your memories intact,” she says, her voice barely more than a whisper, and it's _wrong_ , the way the words fall from her mouth. Something about her accent, her diction, has shifted; it reminds him of Regina at her most regal, when she shapes each syllable to assert herself and cut to the core of her opponent. But Regina is all fire, and Emma (this Emma) burns like ice.

“I can't help you if I don't know what I've done to you.”

“Help me?” She tilts her head slightly, the movement catching the moonlight and making her skin shimmer. “What makes you think I need your help?”

“You were desperate to get rid of the Darkness, from what I remember. You made a choice, you stopped yourself from killing Merida, and you asked for our help. I-” He grits his teeth, stomach rolling as he considers his words. “I promised you that all would be well, and I failed you.”

“You failed me.” Emma rolls each word around in her mouth, lingering over them as she examines her nails.

“Aye.” He forces it out. “And I am sorry. Emma, I-”

“Are you afraid of me?” she interrupts, her head snapping up to study his face. He shakes his head and she vanishes, reappearing a breath away from him. “Perhaps you're disgusted by me. Perhaps, now that you can see the Darkness in me, you want me dead.”

“Never.”

She circles him slowly, the dull click of her heels on the docks keeping time with her words. “Perhaps you've already tried to destroy me. Perhaps you've broken my heart. You don't have the slightest idea, Killian, of the things you've done to me.”

“Emma, please.” He ignores the ragged catch in his voice, watching her come to a halt in front of him. “Let me fix this.”

“I've always chosen to see the best in you,” she says softly, and he winces, the memory of their conversation at the station (a lifetime ago) floating to his mind's eye.

“And I in you.”

Her lips curl in a cold smirk, bright red against her pale skin. “You really shouldn't, you know.”

“I trust you.” Killian hesitates, holding her gaze. “Swan, whatever I said- whatever I did- you must know that I love you.”

The studied disengagement drops from her face and oh, it hurts more than all the hauteur she's directed at him, to see her look like that- like she did in Neverland, when she spoke of her life as an orphan; like she did when she discovered what her parents had done to Lily; like she did when she saw Rumpelstiltskin with Killian's heart tight in his fist.

Gods, what has he _done_ to her?

“And I don't know if you still feel as you did- before Camelot, but-”

“Don't be ridiculous,” she finally says, settling her hand on his hook. She runs her fingertips lightly over the metal for a moment, tracing its wide curve before wrapping her hand around it. “Of course I'm still in love with you, Killian.”

One corner of her mouth tilts up and she's _his_ Emma again, coy and flirty and human in a way that makes his heart ache. He lets himself reach out, cradling her face with his hand. Her skin feels alien beneath his palm, icy and hard, and he skims his thumb gently along the sharp ledge of her cheekbone. Emma sighs at his touch and he winds his arm around her waist, drawing her closer to him. He can't resist that smile, can't resist the idea that this time it could work ( _please, let it work_ ). He presses his answering grin against her cool lips.

For the briefest moment, it does work- he feels the rush of heat to the surface of her skin, tastes the tinny crackle of magic in the air. Emma's eyes fly open to meet his gaze, warm and uncalculating, and he tightens his hold on her.

Then he's alone, arms wrapped around the night air, and Emma is watching him from the other side of the docks.

“Did you really think I would let that work?” She quirks an eyebrow at him, crossing her arms in front of her. “After all the curses that have been broken by True Love's Kiss- after I broke a curse with one myself- you really thought I'd leave that loophole.”

“You said-”

“No, no.” Emma vanishes, reappearing behind him. She runs a fingertip over the shell of his ear, her voice a silky whisper. “I'd never make it so easy.”

“Why are you doing this?” he asks, turning to take her arm. His fingers close around air, and he hears the low rumble of her laughter as she materializes further down the dock.

“Because, Captain, I _like_ being the Dark One. My whole life has been directed by fate, but not anymore. Don't you see?” She spreads her arms wide. “I'm finally free.”

“You're not free, you're bound to that damned dagger!” he bursts out, and her arms drop to her sides.

“Which I possess,” she points out, moving towards him in slow, measured strides. “And which nobody else will ever see again.”

“That's a hell of a gamble.”

“I like my odds.” Emma smiles as she reaches him, gripping the lapels of his coat. “Killian,” she purrs, her breath cool against his lips. “There's no need for all of this attempted curse-breaking, you know. You spent so long in the darkness yourself. It would welcome you back.”

“This isn't you.” He grits his teeth, working his jaw as she tugs him closer. “You wouldn't want me to-”

“Oh, but I would.Think of what we could do, what we could have. Think of all the...” She lets her hands wander lower, fingers lingering on the buckle of his belt. “...quality time we could spend together.”

“Emma.” He pries her hands away, pressing them between his hand and his hook as he takes a step backwards. She pouts, gazing up at him through her eyelashes, but does not disappear.

“What's the matter, Captain? Do I need to buy you dinner first?” she teases, raising her eyebrows in a frighteningly accurate imitation of his own flirtatious face. “I'd say we're well past our third date, after all.”

Killian shakes his head, unable to find the words to reject her without sending her walls flying back up. With a roll of her eyes and a heavy sigh, she frees herself from his grip, reaching up to caress his cheek with studied gentleness.

“Think about it. You can have me,” she gestures to herself with her free hand, drawing his eyes in a long sweep down the skintight leather clinging to her body, “if you give up on this ridiculous idea of saving me from myself.”

“I won't give up on you, Swan,” he says firmly, reaching up to wrap his fingers around her wrist.

“Killian, Killian, Killian,” she says breezily, “what was it you said, when you found me in the forest? Something about choice. So hear this: I've made my choice, and this is it. You can accept it or not, but either way- this is who I am, and who I will always be.” Pulling away from him, she takes a step back, tilting her head as she studies his face. “Think about it.”

She vanishes in a swirl of dark smoke, leaving Killian alone on the docks.

**Author's Note:**

> If you'd like to stay updated on my writing (or join the fun of constant CS blogging), please feel free to check out my [tumblr](http://in-each-place-and-forever.tumblr.com/) and/or my [writing tumblr](http://distinct-elements-of-speech.tumblr.com/).
> 
> The sneak peek that inspired this fic can be found [here](https://youtu.be/_LYJwAmWVls).


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